Members of the Human Rights Council: “Zhirinovsky must be held criminally responsible for his actions”

Statement by members of the Presidential Council of the Russian Federation on Civil Society and Human Rights

On 18th April 2014 in the State Duma of the Russian Federation deputy speaker of the Lower Chamber of the Federal Assembly, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has once again threatened, insulted and humiliated. To insult and humiliate women is a long-standing tradition of this member of the State Duma. And each time he escapes responsibility, making use of his immunity.

The deputy speaker's calls to his young male aides to “violently rape” a pregnant employee of the information agency Russia Today was a specific threat to the life and health of not only the woman but also of her unborn child. The deputy’s aides were fully prepared to carry out this threat. Only the intervention of other journalists stopped Zhirinovsky’s men.

The threat of infliction of grave injury to the health of a pregnant woman undoubtedly must be regarded as a criminal offence.

We believe that this is a moment when all members of the State Duma, independently of their political views, must agree to call the deputy chair of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, to account under Article 119 Section 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (threat of infliction of grave injury to health).

Other statements by the deputy speaker of the State Duma also deserve legal evaluation, in particular comments addressed to a female parliamentary deputy from another government, Irina Farion, the delegate from the Upper House of the Rada of Ukraine. The deputy speaker's use of vocabulary cannot but undermine the reputation of the Russian parliament.

We believe that the proposal to deny the deputy speaker the right to vote in the State Duma for a month, and also to discuss this situation in the committee on deputies’ ethics, are clearly inadequate and insufficient measures. Or is it necessary to await a firmer foundation on which to call Vladimir Zhirinovsky to criminal account – the realization of his threats?

We note that the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, in the words of his press secretary, Yury Ryzhov, himself assessed the whole situation as nothing more than an “excess of emotion”.